Smile
by Fredd8
Summary: Remember the Clown Monster in season 7? Ever wondered what he did to get into Planet Xing's most heavily guarded prison? He made everyone laugh... FOREVER.


"Do you have any idea of who could have done this?"

The heroes were at the crime scene, looking at the people being taken away by an ambulance. They were laughing and giggling and didn't seem to be stopping. Sister Peach was reporting in the background.

The chief police sighed and shook his head. "So far, we've got no leads. But it all points to a monster."

Just a few moments ago, a small part of the city in Planet Xing erupted into laughter. When it didn't stop, the police were sent to investigate. What they saw baffled them, because everyone living in that area just wouldn't stop laughing hysterically.

Kai nodded thoughtfully. He then turned to his teammates. "C'mon, guys, we've got to get to the bottom of this!"

"Kai," the chief police called after him. "Do hurry. If they don't stop laughing, they'll die eventually..."

"Don't worry." Kai gave him an easy grin. "We'll find that monster and make him cure everyone!"

"And as everyone knows, the main character will always find the culprit." Hua continued for him, digging in his pockets for his mirror. "...wait. Who took my mirror?"

"You left it in the bathroom, Hua." Tian said.

"Um... I knew that."

"You know, I've got a bad feeling about this." Cu muttered.

"Why?" Kai turned to ask him.

"It's...err... it's because... I have forgotten. Hahaha..." Cu said apologetically, laughing.

Kai fell over.

* * *

><p>Xiao looked from above warily, standing on a rooftop of a building. His reddish-black eyes missed almost nothing as he watched everyone go about their daily activities. To pass the time, he played with his Kalo-Rubik Cube, trying to solve it faster than he usually did. He wanted to beat the Rubix Master, who was able to solve it within 5.66 seconds, but most of all, he wanted to at least get the same speed Tian had gotten, 4 seconds straight, when her system went wrong.<p>

As he twisted and turned the cube with furious speed, he hoped he wasn't hurting Kalo. After all, he's years older than him and once, one of his doubles sprained Kalo's back while twisting the cube too quickly.

He looked at his stopwatch. 5 seconds top. There was room for improvement, but he'll get to it later. He set down the cube beside him and looked around again. One of his clones was nearby and gave him a nod. So far, nothing was happening.

* * *

><p>Kai flew over the city. <em>There must be something<em>, he thought desperately. The lives of those people rest in the heroes' hands now.

Streetwise Hua and Tian had gone around asking if anyone had seen a suspicious person or monster. They were searching everywhere for a clue.

Just then, Kai's phone beeped. Kai answered it. "Hello?"

"Kai? It's Cu!" a holographic image of the boy appeared on Kai's phone. "I've found something!"

Cu and Doctor Zhai were at home, looking through the computers to track down the culprit faster. They had even made a tracking device to monitor the streets.

Doctor Zhai answered, "It's the very same street the police officers found the laughing victims. Everyone has already evacuated the place, so be careful, Kai!"

"It must be him!" Kai said. He quickly flew over to the destination according to the given directions. "Come out and face me, monster!" he cried. "Or I won't go easy on you!"

The only thing he saw was a bird riding on top of a turtle. He felt the urge to chuckle but kept himself in check. He was too disappointed to laugh. "So this is 'someone strange' Doctor Zhai mentioned." he sighed.

* * *

><p>The heroes met up at their home, discussing.<p>

"Did anyone find anything?" Hua asked. Xiao shook his head.

"Maybe he chickened out." Tian suggested. "Villains we dealt with in the past sometimes did that."

"It all seems very suspicious." Hua muttered.

"How so?"

"Well, he had gotten away with the ploy, and it's definitely foolproof. I'm sure crazed villains like him will do it again and again or until someone gets him." Hua said.

"Wow, you're smart!" Tian said, impressed.

"No, not really. I just read a lot of comic books." Hua said.

...

"So, where's Kai?" Xiao asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Wait... He isn't here yet?" Hua said, surprised, then turned around to check.

"He's probably still searching." Tian said, "I'll contact him now."

As Tian waited for Kai to pick up, Cu stared at the tracking device intently. His eyes widened at something he saw.

_"Hello, this is Hero Kai. If you're looking for me, I'm probably fighting monsters or playing sports or video games. Please leave a message, bye-bye!"_

"He isn't picking up." Tian said.

"Hey, guys, you might want to see this." Cu said, showing the heroes his tracking device. "Kai hasn't moved from this location since I contacted him!"

"Then why did you not tell us earlier?" Hua asked, enraged.

"I... eh, I forgot."

* * *

><p>The four heroes quickly ran towards the place where Kai was still at. They looked at the foggy street, too wary to go in. It was then they heard a sound of laughter.<p>

Kai's laugh.

"Kai! Hang on-" Hua shouted, running towards the street. Xiao quickly took hold of him.

"Seriously, if you're going to keep on rushing into things like this, we're gonna have to get you out of trouble too." Tian scolded.

Xiao cautiously went in first, getting out his Kalo-Rubik and turning him into a sword. He knew that even if something happened to him, he had his duplicates. He narrowed his eyes to make out a figure walking towards him through the misty air and held out his sword at the ready. Kai's laughter still echoed through the deserted buildings. Xiao charged suddenly at the figure and it disappeared. He turned around quickly and saw...

No one.

Xiao looked around, feeling confused. Tian came running up behind him. "Xiao, are you okay?"

Xiao gave her a nod. He then teleported towards a building where he estimated Kai's voice was the nearest to. He then stared in shock. The fog had cleared a little so everyone else could see what he saw.

Kai was on the ground, weak from laughter, unable to stop himself from laughing. He barely acknowledged his friends as they stood around him.

"Kai!" Hua was startled. "What..."

No comfirmation was needed. Kai had fallen under the same laughing spell that had fallen upon everyone else in that street.

Just then, Cu pointed at one of Kai's hands, which was holding on to something shiny and metallic. "What's that on his hand?"

Xiao had to wrench his hand open to take it out. It was a small tablet. Xiao flicked open the screen and almost dropped the tablet. A mask with clown make-up complete with Cheshire-Cat smile just jumped in front of the screen. It belonged to a monster dressed in a matching outfit of light blue and white. He was standing in a small room.

"Why, hello, my dear heroes! Let's play a game!" he said cheerfully. He then held up a large clear glass vial with swirling smoke inside. "This is the antidote to the laughter cure. With this, everyone will stop laughing. You have an hour to find me, or else you won't be able to save your friend and the other citizens!" he broke off into crazed laughter and the screen was suddenly filled with static.

"That place looks familiar..." Hua decided.

"Isn't that the place Mr. Lightbulb tried to sell off, but was abandoned eventually?" Tian asked.

"It can't be that coincidental." Hua said.

"I... forgot." Cu added.

"Well, wherever that place is, we've got to find him!" Tian said, trying to hold Kai down as he continued laughing. He was getting worse.

"Go there, get the antidote, and get out." Xiao said firmly.

"Right." the three heroes said.

* * *

><p>"Now I remember why Mr. Lightbulb couldn't get anyone to buy this place." Cu commented lightly.<p>

The four heroes were standing outside an old building, which was although large, was crumbling and rotting in some places. They had left Kai with Doctor Zhai who had urged them to hurry.

They entered the building. Everything looked as horrid as it did outside, with cockroaches and rats scampering at their appearances. Cobwebs hung everywhere on the high celling. The furniture was broken beyond repair and the floors were dirty and musty. They could see no sign of the monster. Then, the door slammed shut behind them. Everyone was enveloped in darkness.

Tian turned back and began pulling at the door, but it wouldn't budge. They could probably use their powers to bust themselves out, but the door closing on them had signified that the monster was definitely in here with them.

Well, there was no going back now.

Xiao brought out his cube, then turned it into a sword. The luminescent-blue light glowed faintly against the darkness. Tian activated her head flash-light and Hua's magnetic sparks danced on his fingertips. They were ready for anything.

...Cu knocked them over.

"Way to ruin the mood, Cu." Hua groaned and got up. "Okay, guys, let's find that monster!"

"We'd better hurry. We only have four... forty-three minutes left." Cu informed them, looking at his watch.

"Should we split up?" Tian wondered.

"Are you kidding me? You're the one watching all those horror movies!" Hua almost shouted at her. "Remember what happens to all the people who split up in horror movies? They all die!" Growling unnecessarily, he stormed off to a randomly chosen passageway and the others followed him.

Soon, they came to a small room. Xiao kicked the door open and the others rushed in, only to find it empty, save for a few shelves. The heroes looked around them as they entered the room, hoping to find something there.

There was a loud crash. They turned around, their powers at the ready. They then realised it was only Cu who had tripped over something. Tian walked over to help him up, and Xiao noticed the thing Cu had fallen over.

It was a trip-wire.

Hua had also noticed it, and saw something moving on the shelf above Tian. "WATCH OUT!" he shouted, throwing himself into Tian and knocking Tian, Cu and himself out of the way. They barely escaped the blow.

Tian shone her head-light at the attacker and discovered it to be...

"A doll?" Hua said, confused. It was a rag doll with it's eyes and mouth stitched into a creepy sneer. The hair was straggly and thin. It appeared to be holding a mallet. There was a small key stuck to its side, which made it a wind-up doll.

More of them appeared from the shelves, jumping down and surrounding the heroes.

The room wasn't as empty as they thought it was.

One of the dolls sprang onto Xiao but he destroyed it with a swipe of his sword. Hua took down a few dolls by ramming them together with his electromagnetic powers. Tian shot her bubbles at the dolls while Cu used his ray gun. But it seemed that the more they tried to defeat, the more they seemed to appear.

"Xiao! Cu!" Hua shouted while fighting back the wind-up dolls. "There's no time! Tian and I will clear a path for you."

"But what about you guys?" Cu asked.

"We'll hold them off!" Tian said.

"But-"

"Those people and Kai are depending on us!" Hua said. "We will save them or die trying!"

Hua and Tian jumped up together and shot their powers at the exit. Their powers met and created a ball of pure energy, clearing a road for Xiao and Cu. Almost immediately, the dolls multiplied again.

"Go!" Hua shouted. "For Planet Xing!"

Xiao grabbed Cu and darted for the exit. On their way, Cu took a quick look at his watch.

Thirty more minutes.

"We don't even know where we're going!" Cu said as Xiao and him ran past corridors and rooms and up the staircases. "We should have been the ones holding the dolls off instead of Tian and Hua! I'm forgetful and you're directionally challenged!"

Xiao said nothing, but he was fuming inside. Did he really have to bring that up?

They turned another corner and found another set of staircases. They hurriedly ran up the flight of stairs, panting, and continued their search. And all the while, the watch on Cu's hand would continue ticking, losing minutes by the minute.

There was only one room left. If that monster was not behind it, then all was lost. Xiao and Cu burst into the room and looked around. There was nothing.

Xiao gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"SURPRISE!" A shrill scream was heard right above them. They nearly jumped out of their skin and looked up, glaring. The clown-costumed monster was hanging right above the celling, his painted mask showing a huge grin. "I see you made it past my little trap." he leapt down with ease and bowed to the two heroes. "My name is Clown, and I would appreciate it if you could join me for some tea."

"Give us the antidote!" Xiao demanded.

"Well, I suppose you _could_ make me." Clown said offhandedly.

"CuXin Flying Missiles!" Cu said, pulling out his missile launcher and began firing at Clown. Laughing evilly, he dodged the missiles, jumped over Cu and whispered rapidly into his ear. Cu blinked and started laughing and rolling on the floor. Clown then shoved him aside.

Xiao looked startled at the exchange, and turned to glare at Clown. He looked like he was sneering under his mask.

"You're next, boy!" Clown said, and ran towards Xiao. He ducked out of the way and threw Clown into a wall. He then charged at him.

"STOP!" he shouted. He was holding the large glass vial in his hand. "If you come any closer, I'll break this!"

Xiao froze. If he were to break the antidote, then all would be lost.

"Drop that weapon!" Clown ordered.

Xiao obliged, dropping his sword. Before his sword hit the ground, it shape-shifted back into Kalo, who flew at Clown without warning, grabbing the antidote from him. He turned back to Xiao and grinned, giving him the victory sign.

Xiao then took the antidote and ran towards the still laughing Cu and let him get a whiff of the smoke inside the vial. Cu stopped laughing and sat up. "Where... where am I? I seem to have forgotten."

_Yep, he was definitely back to normal._

Just then, Xiao felt himself being grabbed from behind. It was Clown, who apparently haven't given up yet. He then whispered into Xiao's ear, and Xiao realised that he was telling him a joke.

A hysterical joke.

"Xiao!" a hand struck Clown, shoving him away from Xiao. It was Kalo. "A-are you al-right?"

Xiao shrugged. Clown was staring in disbelief. "Impossible!" he declared. "No one was able to resist me before!"

"Well, he never did like laughing or smiling much." Kalo said. "Due to..."

A dark shadow passed behind Clown's mask. "Doesn't. Like. SMILING?"

He charged at Xiao who just punched him down.

"Let's just get him to jail." Kalo said, mildly amused.

Xiao happened to glance down at Cu's watch and was shocked at the time. "Five more minutes?"

He quickly teleported away, leaving Kalo and Cu to get the monster into prison and check on Hua and Tian.

* * *

><p>"Tian!" Hua shouted. The pink hero was buried under a sea of dolls. He himself was stuck too, and he struggled to get them off. Just then, the dolls stopped moving.<p>

"Are you guys okay?" Cu asked, concerned. He had just destroyed the control manual and all the dolls were harmless again.

Hua got up, combed his hair and said "The main character is okay!"

"I guess we are all fine." Tian said, smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Hospital.<strong>

Xiao finally reached the ward with all the laughing patients. Kai was there with Doctor Zhai too. Xiao wasted no time in opening the antidote and releasing the gas into the air. It enveloped everyone and they stopped laughing.

Kai flew up in shock, but calmed down once he knew what was happening. He lamented on missing out on all the action, but he was happy that they had managed to succeed.

* * *

><p>Clown was taken to Planet Xing's most heavily guarded prison. All the most dangerous monsters are jailed there, and are not to be set free under any circumstances.<p>

* * *

><p><em>It was not over yet. Clown knew it. Once he got out, everyone would be in for a big surprise.<em>

_They would never understand the importance of smiling, because those stupid heroes ruined it all. He vowed to fix it once and for all. There was a red stone stuck on his costume. It had not been activated yet, but it soon will be._

_As for Xiao, the boy who does not smile, he will remember him. He will hunt him down._


End file.
